Rishi Sunak caught in Tory civil war after immigration minister Robert Jenrick resigns over ‘weak’ Rwanda plan
RISHI Sunak was caught in a Tory civil war last night after his immigration minister resigned — claiming the PM’s Rwanda plan was too weak.
Robert Jenrick quit over Mr Sunak rejecting demands to opt out of European Convention of Human Rights rules.
Telling Tories to “unite or die”, the PM insisted the emergency moves he announced were the “toughest immigration legislation ever”.
They will see some human rights laws in Rwanda asylum cases “disapplied” in the hope British courts will throw out any challenges.
Ministers will have the power to ignore Strasbourg judges if they order flights to be grounded — but the new bill does not automatically override the ECHR.
Within hours of publishing the planned law, Mr Jenrick issued a resignation statement that railed: “A Bill of the kind you are proposing is a triumph of hope over experience.
“The stakes for the country are too high for us not to pursue the stronger protections required to end the merry-go-round of legal challenges which risk paralysing the scheme .”
Mr Jenrick, once a close Sunak loyalist, added: “I refuse to be yet another politician who makes promises on immigration but does not keep them.”
Brexiteer MP Mark Francois called the resignation “deeply worrying”.
There were also fears the package would not stop individuals from lodging legal appeals.
But the PM insisted Mr Jenrick had got it wrong.
He hit back at his ex-pal: “Your resignation is disappointing given we both agree on the ends, getting flights off to Rwanda so that we can stop the boats.
“I fear that your departure is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation. It is our experience that gives us confidence that this will work.”
Earlier, ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the Commons the Tories faced “electoral oblivion” if Mr Sunak did not get a grip on illegal migration, insisting it was an issue of “who governs Britain”.
Mr Sunak insisted at a meeting of backbenchers that Rwanda would have pulled the plug if Britain had breached international legislation.
New Home Secretary James Cleverly was still unable to promise the legislation would not seen as breaking ECHR law anyway.